Well-known software businesses usually located in Bangsar, cyberjaya, Mid Valley, KL sentral, TPM. Large scale one are not many to choose. Common problem happened to the software professionals is that their skills sometimes are too niche in the market, if you're very valuable in your current company, it may not turn out to be the same in another company. Not many manager position here can get pay more than MYR 20k per mth.
Just to give you a sample, take a friend of mine as an example, Master's degree IT, age at 46 director of a SME software house, mthly salary = MYR 22k. Based on his responsibility and scope, I think he is underpaid.
In my humble opinion, MYR 22k per mth give one a comfortable life, but not a sophisticated one. In addition to the political & social instability, one step wrong in a financial decision, we ruin our whole life.
Pro is we get to stay with the family & friends we loved.
Con is the living environment.

Yup, they are growing like crazy in APAC

Don't mean to hijack this forum and start talking about politics in msia... if there is another forum please point me to that and I will take my question there...
Honestly many of my close friends are doing very well in Msia and the political/social issues exaggerated by the media is not impacting their lives so much.. maybe not yet...
My friend who is a Manager in a big US consulting firm in Malaysia is earning rm17k/month... which led me to believe rm20-25k for senior manager in a top firm to be the standard. Yes I agree your friend who is a Director is a little underpaid, but really depends on the company... if it is a smaller company then that may be a reason

I started my career in NYC as well, came back to Malaysia years back due to a death in the family. I never regretted the decision. As much as I liked the US there are a lot of opportunities in Malaysia and the region as well. I can always go back to the US if I ever wanted to, and I think you do have that option as well so don't think of it as a one way street. I also have not been impacted directly by the much publicized problems, and there are many things in Malaysia that has improved over the years although the weather is not one of them.

Anyway, in the few companies I've looked at, the salary range is actually quite a bit higher than what you posted above, or what's reported in the likes of Robert Walters. At one US based multinational that I talked to, a supervisor/team lead level salary range is 10-25k, manager is 22-40k, you can figure out the rest. Another UK-based multinational had a few manager level positions with a salary range of 23-42k. I interviewed and was offered a director level position at a startup for RM25k. They do a lot on AWS, their main product is a social network popular in south asia and the mid east. I didn't take the job.

These are base salaries not including benefits but don't forget that Malaysia does not have a treaty with the US so at the levels above you'll be taxed twice.

great to hear that, im going for professional cert soon, thanks for the reply!

Over Raya, was chatting with a friend's elder brother who is financially comfortable enough to opt for early retirement at 56 yrs old.

Job Title : Vice President
Job Description : Manage and oversee investor relations / communications for a large regional bank based in Malaysia, manage a team.
Years spent in company : 11 years
Company : Bank
Industry : Financial Institution
Tenure : Permanent
Employment Level : VP / Senior manager
Experience before joining : Dunno
Highest paper qualification/ education background : Master's Degree
Salary : Monthly RM19K plus car allowance, phone allowance, bank perks like loans etc.


Hmmm I would like to hear more fr people's salaries nearing retirement

I think is a little hard for them to even come to forum right? Maybe we could try to get some information from those near retire and post it up on behalf of them.

RM19K sounds low to me for that VP position. I believe he earned around RM30-40k monthly..

indeed.. 19k way to low

Hi Guys,

Appreciate if anyone can help to evaluate this offer:

Age: 26
Job Title : System Analyst
Job Description : Travelling around APAC, Client facing consultation, requirements gathering, Customizing software solutions/products for clients, deploy solutions on client site.
Years spent in company : Pending Offer
Company : Telco based MNC
Industry : Telco based MNC
Tenure : Permanent
Employment Level : Junior
Experience before joining : 4 yrs +
Highest paper qualification/ education background : Degree
salary : Basic RM6600 + RM120 Allowances + 1 month contractual bonus + half to 1 month performance bonus
benefits : standard medical & insurance, standard employer epf, handphone allowance, vision / dental / body checkup claims and etc, which are norm in industry
Location: Malaysia



This post has been edited by [revolution]: Jul 16 2016, 06:45 AM

Age brah. No age hard to judge.

Why should age even matter? I thought what matters most is your experience, career satisfaction/ expectation, etc.

That's because he was asking to evaluate. 26 years old getting 6k is impressive. 39 year old getting that? Does that sound that impressive to you?

Age is not a big factor, but it is when comes to evaluate. A fresh grad get 3k salary vs 35 years old get 3k salary. See the difference there?

Hi bro, amended my post with age 26. Thx

By "evaluate", I think it means whether it makes sense or not or whether it is the norm. Quite shallow to be judging based on its "impression" to you.

Those who are more advanced at their age probably start late (hence the limited experience in said field) and have a very minimum qualification, just like you. Do I shame you for having a 2k salary like that at that kind of age? No. I evaluate based off of your experience & achievement (and maybe prospect of said industry) , and see if it's fair.

Underpaid I guess. When I was with my previous employer on a project at East Coast, on a good month hentam OT kaw2, gross can earn up to 23k to 25k per month. Good time.

Job Title : Contract Executive/ Site Quantity Surveyor
Age:24
Job Desciption : Handle the project contract, sub contract , control and oversee construction budget (240mil high rise project)
Years spent in company : 7months
Company : Construction
Industry : Construction company
Tenure :Permanent
Employment Level : Executive
Experience before joining : 5 months+
Highest paper qualification/ education background : Degree
salary : Myr 3.5k + performance bonus
benefits : medical, insurance, employer epf, free courses,
Location: Malaysia

This post has been edited by godhand: Jul 16 2016, 08:46 AM

That's impressive bro. 26 getting close to 7k salary.

Yes, you are correct. But how would you know if is justifiable by just comparing experience, achievement vs salary being offered? Age play a big part too when comes to evaluate.

And, letting people know you are considered low income earner does not make one being shameful; at least he is making his own living. I'd reckon it would motivate them to strive harder to earn a better living after knowing so many people earning better than him.

Albeit I did not go thru all the post but I notice average sifu here posted salary were in the range of ~RM10K.. What about those with salary RM15k-50k range (local, not expat or work in oversea)?

Lol? I'm on the same boat but the other way round. I'm from pmt and feel like going back to technical. Got a good degree in chemical and don't feel like wasting it. OnG not doing well, and lack of projects. My skills is not as transferable like a Chem or process engineer. And I am easily replaceable, merely a focal point coordinator that every fresh grad can do. I believe u feel the same too. Our career path moves to a PM, and most PM works like dog but rewarding. When recession, hard to find a specific job out there. Change industry also difficult compared to a generalist chem/proc eng.

Just a matter of time you will forget how to use your simulation software etc lol

I think is how u view and enjoy it